John Mbadi, who was Suba South MP for 15 years, now blames successor for poor roads

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John Mbadi, who was Suba South MP for 15 years, now blames successor for poor roads

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Paid goons barricaded the main roads leading to designated venues, forcing the Linda Mwananchi team to retreat onto dusty, rough roads to access them.

As the tour was streamed live on various platforms, thousands of Kenyans who followed the events online were shocked to see cars ferrying the Linda Mwananchi team meandering through dusty, rocky, and rough roads.

This opened a major conversation regarding the state of development in Homa Bay County, and the Luo Nyanza region at large. Kenyans questioned why resources have not been properly utilised to tarmac the roads.

Defenders of the Kenya Kwanza administration had earlier warned the Linda Mwananchi brigade against using the infrastructure President William Ruto has put up in Homa Bay, painting a picture of a region that has witnessed transformation since its leaders started working with the government under the broad-based deal.

While Kenyans raised questions, opinion was divided between the pro- and anti-government teams. Proponents argued that the region had been neglected by past governments until President Ruto came to power.

Opponents say the region has still not experienced the fruits of devolution, 16 years into the 2010 constitution.

One of the dusty, impassable roads is in Suba South, a constituency currently represented by Caroli Omondi, a member of the Linda Mwananchi team. He was elected in 2022 and is currently serving his 4th year in parliament.

Caroli Omondi succeeded John Mbadi, the current Treasury Cabinet Secretary.

Mbadi had served for 15 years, the first five as MP for the larger Gwassi constituency, later renamed Suba South. Mbadi would continue serving Suba South for then 10 years as MP for Suba South after it was split into Suba South and Suba North.

Mbadi has since blamed his successor, Caroli Omondi, for the poor state of roads in Suba South exposed during the Sunday rally.

"Ironically, the area MP who has abdicated his duties is their Secretary General. What an own goal!" Mbadi said while sharing a photo of one of the dusty roads in Suba South as captured by the Linda Mwananchi team.

He, however, said there are plans to tarmac some of the roads in the area.

"Meanwhile, our quest to correct the historical inequities remains undeterred. Closely following up the progress of the Lake Victoria ring road that will come with a number of spur roads," Mbadi added.

However, Kenyans were quick to remind him that he served for 15 years as an elected MP, and two more as a nominated MP, yet the roads remained the same for all that time. There was the question of what Mbadi did for the period he was MP of the larger Gwassi and then Suba South constituencies.

"I thought you were the MP for 15 years, what did you do in those years?" Mark Malanda asked.

"15 years as an MP and you did nothing. Before you tweet jiite ka mkutano please don't just tweet," Daniellah added.

"You can’t hide behind “marginalization” to evade accountability, Ndugu. You were MP for 15 years and you did nothing. You are now CS and all we hear is that you brought two transformers to your area," Anwar Saddat said.

Mbadi has, regardless, continued to defend the situation in Homa Bay County, arguing that the Linda Mwananchi team picked what they wanted their supporters to see, leaving out real development.

"Every major highway has a dusty feeder road. Fact! Quite laughable how the roaming tourists deceitfully picked what to magnify," he said and went on to attach a clip allegedly showing the Linda Mwananchi caravan driving on a newly built tarmac, which he credits to President Ruto.

"This clip captures the content creators enjoying the Kigwa-Magunga stretch along Sindo-Magunga-Sori Highway done by Ruto's admin[stration]."

MPs oversee the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), a kitty they allocated themselves to spearhead development in their constituencies. Through this kitty, roads, schools, and education can be funded.

For instance, Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has been lauded as one of the legislators whose offices have properly utilised their NG-CDF allocation to construct roads and build schools.

Legislators can also lobby the national government to build infrastructure such as roads in their respective constituencies.

While at it, some other leaders from Homa Bay County have admitted to a lack of development in the area, saying years of marginalisation have left the region behind.

Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo, who condemned the Sunday violence meted out to the Linda Mwananchi team, seemed to dismiss Mbadi's sentiments that what Kenyans saw were feeder roads.

"Most of our roads are bad in Suba South and North. Let us stop cheating people by saying those are feeder roads and that the main roads were barricaded. What you see, other than Homabay to Mbita and Rusinga Ring Road, are the main roads," Millie said.

"We have been marginalised for years. Sugar-coating it by calling the bad roads feeder roads will stop the government from prioritising these roads," she added.

Reporting originally appeared via Citizen Digital. Read the full source for additional context.